


Dancing Dragon

by Patricia_Sage



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Badass Toph Beifong, Birthday, Bisexual Sokka (Avatar), Bisexual Zuko (Avatar), Dancing, Everyone wants to dance with Zuko, F/M, Fire Lord Zuko, Future Fic, Gay Zuko (Avatar), Gen, Implied Sokka/Zuko (Avatar), M/M, Party, Post-Canon, Sokka and Zuko are oblivious, Sokka has a crush on Zuko, The Gaang are in their 20s, Toph Being Awesome, Zuko has a crush on Sokka, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, happy zuko, zukka - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-12
Updated: 2020-06-12
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:48:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24674116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Patricia_Sage/pseuds/Patricia_Sage
Summary: “Come on, Sparky, it’s my birthday!” Toph had her hands on the Fire Lord’s wrists and was trying to manipulate his arms into dancing movements. Zuko looked like a flustered puppet. Sokka laughed, earning himself a half-hearted glare.“Yeah, come on, Zuko,” Sokka joined in. “It’s not every day an earthbending master turns twenty!”Katara and Aang looked over in surprise when Zuko responded. “Fine, I’ll dance with you.” Toph looked considerably triumphant, but her face fell into a scowl when the Fire Lord continued. “But you have to dance my way.”
Relationships: Aang & Toph Beifong, Aang & Zuko (Avatar), Aang/Katara (Avatar), Katara & Sokka (Avatar), Katara & Zuko (Avatar), Sokka & Zuko (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar), The Gaang & Zuko (Avatar), Toph Beifong & Katara, Toph Beifong & Sokka, Toph Beifong & Zuko
Comments: 26
Kudos: 1007





	Dancing Dragon

**Author's Note:**

> @nessa_cristina on Tiktok made a video describing how the ATLA characters would dance and she said the following about our boy Zuko: 1) will say no at first 2) used to love dancing so he’s got some pretty solid moves 3) is really good at partner dances. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Then I drank a few glasses of wine and here we are.

The sun had ducked under the horizon, they’d each had quite a lot to drink, and the musicians were showing no signs of tiring. However, they still hadn’t gotten Zuko to do anything more than an awkward head-nodding shuffle on the dance floor.

Even though it was only the five of them in the room, Zuko seemed self-conscious. No matter how many times Katara, Sokka, or even Aang asked him to dance, he turned them down. 

“Come on, Sparky, it’s my birthday!” Toph had her hands on the Fire Lord’s wrists and was trying to manipulate his arms into dancing movements. Zuko looked like a flustered puppet. Sokka laughed, earning himself a half-hearted glare.

“Yeah, come on, Zuko,” Sokka joined in. “It’s not every day an earthbending master turns twenty!”

Katara and Aang looked over in surprise when Zuko responded. “Fine, I’ll dance with you.” Toph looked considerably triumphant, but her face fell into a scowl when the Fire Lord continued. “But you have to dance my way.”

“Your way? What, some kind of dragon dance?”

Zuko chuckled and Sokka couldn’t help but smile as well. “No. It’s a partner dance, so you’re going to have to follow my lead.”

Toph put her hands on her hips. “Why can’t I lead?”

“You can after you’ve learned the dance, alright?”

“…Alright.”

Upon Zuko’s request, the band began to play a slower song with a tempo like a heartbeat. Sokka sat down to watch. Soon, Katara and Aang were resting next to him. They watched Zuko lower his shoulders and place his arms into a graceful position. He had his right forearm gently pressed against Toph’s upper back. His left hand was grasped in her right, and he moved so their elbows were bent. Zuko was taller than Toph, so he had to crouch a bit, which warmed Sokka’s heart.

Unheard by the rest of the group, Zuko mumbled instructions to Toph. Soon enough, they were traveling across the dance floor. Sokka was enamored by the way Zuko moved, how he leaned his body and how he carefully placed his feet. Toph, however, was not nearly as graceful.

After Toph stepped on him about four times, Zuko finally snapped. “Okay, you are doing that on purpose!”

“Excuse me, I’m blind!”

Zuko dropped his hands to his sides and took a step back. “We both know your feet can see exactly where my feet are. Now, do you want to dance with me or not?”

Toph sighed and rolled her eyes. “Fine, fine. I’ll give it a shot, Fire Lord Fancy-Pants.”

“Okay.”

They resumed dancing and this time no one got stepped on. In fact, Sokka admitted, they danced really well together. Fire Nation partner dancing involved a lot of extended movements and traveling around the room. More importantly, this kind of dancing made Zuko smile. Even though Toph would never admit it, she looked pretty happy as well.

After a few minutes, the song ended. Toph grabbed Zuko’s hand and led him into a spin on the spot. She had to jump to get her arm over his head, and she knocked the headpiece out of his top-knot. Zuko laughed and stooped down to pick it up. When he straightened, returning the hairpiece to its place, Aang was almost nose-to-nose with him.

“My turn!” the Avatar said.

Zuko blushed slightly. “Okay.”

While Zuko and Aang were more evenly matched in height, Aang didn’t pick up on the steps as easily as Toph had. However, his airbending instincts made him light on his feet, and he adapted well to Zuko’s leading. Sokka clapped when Aang improvised a few of his own moves every so often.

Katara was next, holding her hand out to the Fire Lord as soon as his dance with Aang was over. Meanwhile, Toph grabbed Aang and led him in a similar dance across the room (with a few more embellishments).

Katara and Zuko were a good match, Sokka thought. Katara had always loved dancing as a child and she was a natural at picking up new skills. When Zuko danced with Katara, the positions looked less stiff and more like fluid, waterbending forms. Zuko’s arm was across Katara’s back, but Sokka wondered who was really leading who.

Zuko ended the dance by kissing Katara on the hand, and she smiled. When Zuko turned around, Sokka swiftly put his arm on the firebender’s back. “My turn,” he said. The Fire Lord blushed. He was a little out of breath after completing three songs in a row.

“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” Zuko asked, eyebrow raised. A few long strands of hair had fallen out of his top-knot. Sokka gently place Zuko’s hair behind his ear before taking his hand.

“I’m a watch-and-learn kind of guy,” Sokka assured, and attempted to mimic Zuko’s movements to the best of his ability.

The two men stepped on each other’s feet multiple times, and it wasn’t on purpose. However, by the end of the song, Sokka felt more confident. He found himself looking at Zuko’s face, so close to his, instead of at his own feet. When the last few notes rang out in the hall, he was disappointed.

“One more?” he asked. “I’ve almost got it, I swear.”

Zuko looked up at him. Sokka wondered if Zuko was aware that he was smiling this much. “Okay, one more.”

Sokka let himself get lost in the rhythm of the music, focusing on Zuko’s strong back under his arm, his calloused hand, his warm breath. He didn’t step on Zuko’s feet once.

When the song ended, they looked at each other for a moment, so close their noses were almost touching. Zuko’s golden eyes glanced down at Sokka’s mouth for a brief moment before he pulled away, cheeks slightly pink. “You improved a lot,” he said.

“Thanks,” Sokka replied. Over Zuko’s shoulder, Sokka noticed his sister giving him a strange look, a combination of amusement and exasperation. Sokka didn’t know what to make of that.

Before he could approach her, Aang grabbed his hand. “Alright, Sokka, show me what you’ve got!”

Sokka danced with his friend and tried not to be distracted by Zuko sitting on the bench and re-tying his hair. At the other end of the hall, Toph finished off another drink before metal-bending Zuko’s hairpiece into her own hair.

“Hey!”

“Looks like I’m the Fire Lord now, bitches.”

**Author's Note:**

> Wow, I love Toph so much.
> 
> Reviews/comments are very much appreciated. Hope you're doing well!


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